Working element of a knitting machine provided with a butt

ABSTRACT

A knitting machine having a working element such as a needle or closing sinker provided on its shaft with at least one butt cooperating with cams actuating the movement of the working elements, the functional surface of the butt having a rounded part and a planar part, the planar part being oblique to the longitudinal axis and substantially parallel with the functional surface of the cam, the functional surface of the butt substantially exceeding the width of the shaft.

UnitedStates Patent 1191 Slot 6! al. Jan. 23, 1973 s41 WORKING EL ()F A KNITTING 546,986 1041893 Adfgate ..66/123 2,269,288 1 194 Sa tlasetal. ...66/l23 x MACHINE PROVIDED WITH A BUTT 1,184,526 5/1916 Harley ..66/l23 [75] lnventors: Alois Slof; Vladimir Smcjkal, both of Brno, Czechoslovakia [73] Assignee: Vyzkumny ustav pletarsky, Brno,

Czechoslovakia [22] Filed: March 12, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 123,622

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data March 17, 1970 Czechoslovakia ..l736

[52] US. Cl ..66/123 [51] Int. Cl. ..D04b 35/02 [58] Field of Search ..66/l 16-124 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 49 l,l72 2/1893 Kirkpatrick ..66/l23 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 57l,976 lO/l958 Belgium ..66/l 23 Primary Examiner-Ronald Feldbaum Attorney-Arthur O. Klein [57] ABSTRACT A knitting machine having a working element such as a needle or closing sinker provided on its shaft with at least one butt cooperating with cams actuating the movement of the working elements, the functional surface of the butt having a rounded part and a planar part, the planar part being oblique to the longitudinal axis and substantially parallel with the functional surface of the cam, the functional surface of the butt substantially exceeding the width of the shaft.

20 Claims, 20 Drawing Figures 'PATENTEDJAN 23 I975 SHEET 1 OF 4 Zia V///// |NVENTORS ALO SL F, VLAmImILS/WETXKAL BY: fizw 0 m ATTORNEY PATHHEHJAH P3 I975 3.712.083

SHEET 2 UF 4 INVENTOR ALOIS SLOF VLADI RSMEJKAL ATTORNEY PATENTEUJAH23 I973 3,712,083

sum 3 BF 4 2 MW MI in M j INVENTORS: O o S SLOF, BYLADMIK SMEIKHL WORKING ELEMENT OF A KNllTTlNG MACHINE PROVIDED WITH A BUTT The invention concerns a working element of a knitting machine, for instance a needle, an auxiliary needle, or a closing sinker, provided at least with one butt cooperating with the cams actuating the movement of the working elements in the bed. The said working element is suitable for high-speed knitting machines.

The needle or sinker butts (hereinafter called needle butts) used on knitting machines are generally of a width equal to the width of the shaft and of a rectangular profile with slightly rounded edges. In this description, the width" means the width of the profiles, i.e., the transverse dimensions of the needle shaft, of the butt, etc., in the direction perpendicular to the symmetry plane of the needle.

The functional surfaces of the needle cams which cause the movement of said needles in the needle bed engage the needle butts on said slightly rounded edges, the pressure of the cam exerted on the needle butt therefore being distributed over a very small surface area. The resulting high specific pressure appears espe cially disadvantageous on high-speed machines, where the needle speed increases considerably due to the rapid motion of the needle cams and the larger cam angle; this results in a considerable wear of the needles and earns. Especially when using new needles, the edges of the needle butts cause damage to the functional surfaces of the cams. During the action of the needles, the edges of the butts gradually become worn, causing a decrease of the specific pressure; after replacing worn needles, however, the new needles unfavorably affect not only both the cooperating functional cam and butt surfaces, but the knitting process itself, resulting in an irregular and uneven appearance of the fabric.

To eliminate the aforementioned disadvantages, a skewing of the functional surfaces of the butts has been proposed, i.e., a chamfering of all four edges of the hitherto used rectangular profile into two pairs of converging planar surfaces, oblique to the longitudinal needle axis. An increase of the contact surface of the butt and the cam results in a decrease of the specific pressure therebetween. The advantage of this arrangement is illusory only, because the chamfering of the edges of the very narrow butts in this way is laborious and requires high-precision work. A further disadvantage consists in the fact that on the interface of two skewed surfaces of the butts there arises a sharp edge,

causing impacts during running of the cam on the butt.

The elimination of the sharp edge by rounding off would reduce the risk of impacts, it is true, but the very small functional surfaces of the butts would simultaneously become smaller.

The present invention seeks to enlarge the functional surfaces of the needle butts, i.e., to enlarge the planar skewed contact surfaces of the butts and the cam, thus reducing the specific pressure and simultaneously providing on the interface of the functional surfaces a rounded portion of a radius which is, large enough to prevent impacts during cam on-runs.

The above-outlined disadvantages are eliminated in said working element according to the invention, which is suitable for high-speed knitting machines; in accordance with the invention, the functional surface of the butt, of which the skewed surface corresponds to the respective cam surface, exceeds the shaft width.

Thus the functional surface of the butt, i.e., both the planar skewed part and the rounded part thereof, is substantially enlarged; this enlargement is limited only by the spacing of the working elements in the needle bed, a slight clearance between the butts of the adjacent working elements being sufficient.

According to a further preferred feature of the invention, said working element is provided with a functional butt surface the skewing of which corresponds to the maximum working angle of the cam. This skewing insures the maximum contact surface of the cam and the butt in the interval of the speediest movement of the working element.

in flat knitting machines or on circular knitting machines, especially with a reversing motion, each butt is provided with one or two pairs of converging functional surfaces, the needles with one pair of converging functional surfaces being used, for instanceQwhen a cam actuates only the pushing-down of the needles in their drawing position, while an auxiliary patterning device pushes them in the closing, or the tucking position.

ln a circular knitting machine with unidirectional rotation, there can be used a working element the butt of which has two parallel functional surfaces, i.e., one surface for cooperation with the raising cam and the second for cooperation with the stitch cam. When the needles are pushed into working position by a patterning device, one functional surface of the butt for cooperating with the stitch cam is sufficient.

To make a butt surface exceed the shaft width, the width of the butt can be larger than that of the shaft, at least 25 percent widening being preferred. The butt may consist ofa supporting part and at least of one foot with at least one skewed functional surface exceeding the shaft width, a second similar arrangement being preferred, the second arrangement differing from the first-mentioned one only in that the width of the supporting part does not exceed the shaft width. In the case of both latter arrangements, the foot can be V- shaped.

For working elements on circular knitting machines with unidirectional rotation, a rectangular profile of the butt is preferred, such profile being rounded on its ends and the longitudinal axis of which is oblique to the longitudinal shaft axis.

According to a further preferred feature of the invention, said feet and other parts of the butt, the width of which exceeds that of the shaft width, consist of an additional material welded, riveted, soldered, or otherwise secured on the butt part, the width of which corresponds to or is smaller than the shaft width. According to a further preferred feature of the invention. in another embodiment, there is an outer U-shaped part, attached, soldered, or riveted on the inner part of the butt, the width of which corresponds to or is smaller than the shaft width. According to a still further preferred embodiment, the outer part of the butt forms a housing enveloping the inner part, the width of which corresponds to or is smaller than the shaft width, or optionally the weakened part of the shaft. The feet and other parts of the butt exceeding the shaft width can be of a metal or of a synthetic polymer, for instance, polyamide or polytetrafluoroethylene such as that sold under the trademark TEFLON.

Said working element can have the complete butt made of the same material as the shaft. This butt, having one functional surface or two converging functional surfaces, is provided with a foot of the same width as the supporting part of the butt, the foot being curved or V-shaped in a direction oblique to the longitudinal axis of the shaft. The butt having two parallel functional surfaces is provided with two feet curved oblique to the longitudinal shaft axis, the width of which corresponds to the width of the supporting part of the butt. According to a still further embodiment of the invention, the shaft and the butt can be cast or molded from a synthetic polymer, the casting or molding being provided with an inner reinforcement the projecting part of which forms the working part of the working element.

The above and other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side elevation of the needle and a section ofa needle bed according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the needles and the needle bed;

FIG. 3 is a section on the line IlI--III in FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4, 5. and 6 are sections of three further embodiments taken on the line IIIIII in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of another embodiment of the needle;

FIG. Sis a plan section on the line VIII-VIII in FIG.

FIGS. 9 and are plan views of other embodiments ofneedles;

FIGS. ll, l2, l3, l4, l6, and [7 are plan views of other embodiments of butts provided at least with one foot;

FIG. is a side elevation ofthe embodiment of nee dle according to FIG. 14;

FIGS. 18 and I9 are plan views oftwo other embodiments ofsaid needle; and

FIG. is a side elevation of theembodiment of the invention according to FIG. 19.

As will be apparent from the above, a plurality ofembodiments of the invention are illustrated and described herein. Identical or similar parts throughout the several views are designated by the same reference characters.

Turning now to FIG. 1, there is there shown a knitting needle comprising a hook I and a latch 2, the needle being mounted in a groove 3 ofa needle bed 4. Such needle bed is shown in phantom lines in FIG. 2. The shaft or stem 5 of the needle is provided with a butt 6 cooperating with a cam 7; relative motion between the cam 7 and the needle bed 4 in the direction of the arrow 8 in FIG. 2 moves the needles to the left in the grooves 3 ofthe needle bed. The functional surface 9 of the cam 7 has the smallest angle 10, such angle increasing on the rounded part 11 ofthe functional surface up to the maximum angle 12 on the planar functional surface 13. The needle butt 6 has two pairs of converging 14 are skewed with reference to the longitudinal needle axis 16, the inclination thereof corresponding to the angle 12 of the cam 7.

As already mentioned, and as illustrated in FIG. 2, by the width 17 of the needle shaft 5 and the width 18 of the butt 6 there are to be understood the transverse dimensions of their profiles in perpendicular direction to the symmetry plane of the needle. The aforesaid plane passes through the longitudinal needle axis and is perpendicular to the plane of the drawing. With such definition of terms, it is evident from the drawing that the needle in each illustrated embodiment of the invention is provided with a butt 6 of which the functional surfaces l4, l5 overlap the width ofthe needle shaft 5.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 11, inclusive, the butt 6 is wider than the shaft 5 of the needle, the width of the former being double or even triple the width of the shaft width 5 in the illustrated embodiments.

The parts I9 of the butt 6 (FIG. 3), exceeding the width of shaft 5 are made of an additional material on the inner part 20 of the shaft. In the embodiment of FIG. 3 material 19 is welded, soldered, or otherwise suitably attached to the inner part 20 of the butt 6; the width of said inner part 20 corresponds to the width of the shaft 5.

In FIG. 4, the additional material 19 is riveted to the inner part 20. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, an outer shaped part 21 is welded, soldered, or otherwise attached to part 20, in FIG. 6 part 21 is riveted on the inner part 20 ofthe butt 6. In the embodiment of FIGS. 7 and 8, the outer part 21 of the butt 6 forms a housing enveloping the inner part 20 of the butt 6 as well as the weakened or necked in part of the shaft 5 by which part 21 is locked to part 20. This housing may be made of a synthetic polymer, unlike the previous embodiments where the additional material is a metal.

In all the described embodiments ofthe invention the butts 6 have two converging functional surfaces enabling the use of the needles generally on all weft knitting machines.

The butt 6 of the needle illustrated in FIG. 9 has two parallel functional surfaces 14 and is suitable for circular knitting machines in which the motion ofthe needle bed 4 or the cam is unidirectional. The butt 6 in the em bodiment of FIG. 10 has one functional surface 14, and is suitable for a circular knitting machine provided with a patterning device the cam 7 of which pushes down the needles into drawing position only.

In the embodiments of the invention according to FIGS. 11-16, inclusive, the butt 6 consists of a supporting part 22 and ofa foot 23, the profile of both exceeding the width of the needle shaft 5. In the embodiment of FIG. 11, the supporting part 22 is of a larger width than the needle shaft 5 and is made by welding, or otherwise suitably attaching a bent additional part. The butt 6 is provided with one oblique functional surface 14.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 12 and 13, the supporting part 22 ofthe butt 6 is ofthe same width as the needle shaft 5. The foot 23 is welded, riveted, or otherwise suitably attached to the supporting part 22. As shown in FIG. 12, the butt 6 and the foot 23, respectively,

have one oblique functional surface 14; in FIG. 13 the V-shaped foot 23 has two functional surfaces 14.

ln the embodiment of FIGS. 14 and 15, the foot having one functional surface 14 is ofthe same width as the supporting part 22 of the butt 6 and is made ofthe same material as the supporting part 22, so that the complete butt 6 is of the same material as the needle shaft 5. As seen in FIG. 15, the foot 23 can be obtained in a very simple way, the butt 6 of an increased length having its base partially cut, milled, or severed in a suitable manner which results in a free foot 23, bent as shown in FlG.l4.

The embodiment of the invention, shown in FlG.l6 differs from that shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the foot 23 of FlG.l6 having two converging functional surfaces 14. This embodiment is suitable for machines the cams of which only push down the needle into drawing positlon.

The embodiment shown in FlG.l7 differs from that shown in FlG.l4, the butts in FlG.l7 having two feet 23 the functional surfaces of which are parallel. This embodiment is suitable for circular knitting machines.

The embodiment according to FlG. 18 is analagous to that of FIG. 17, the butt 6 being pressed to its final shape. The butt 6 is of an elongated profile; the ends of such profile are rounded and the longitudinal axis 24 of such profile is oblique to the longitudinal needle axis [6.

In the embodiment of FlGS.l9 and 20, the needle shaft 5 and the butt 6 are ofa molding 25 ofa synthetic polymer, the molding 25 having an inner steel reinforcement of which the free end portion, which projects from the shaft 5, constitutes the working part of the needle.

Although the invention is illustrated and described with reference to a plurality of preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be expressly understood that it is in no way limited to the disclosure of such a plurality of embodiments, but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope ofthe appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A working element in a bed ofa knitting machine, the element being provided on its shaft with at least one butt cooperating with cams actuating the movement of the working elements in the bed, the functional surface of the butt having a rounded part and a planar part, the planar part being disposed oblique to the longitudinal axis of said working element, said functional surface of the butt exceeding the width of the shaft, the skewing of said functional surface of the butt corresponding to that of the functional surface ofthe cam.

2. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the skewing of the functional surface of the butt corresponds to the maximum working angle of the cam.

3. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt is provided with at least one pair of converging planar functional surfaces.

4. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt is provided with two parallel planar functional surfaces.

5. A working element as claimed in claim I, wherein functional surface exceeding the width of the shaft.

8. A working element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the width of the supporting part of the butt is not greater that the shaft width.

9. A working element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the foot is V-shaped.

10. A working element as claimed in claim 1,

4 wherein said butt is provided with an elongated profile,

rounded on its ends, the longitudinal axis of said profile being oblique to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.

1]. A working element as claimed in claim 6, wherein the width of said butt exceeds the width of the shaft by at least 25 percent.

12. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feet of said butts and other parts of said butt exceeding the width of the shaft consist of an additional material which is secured to the butt part, the width of the latter being no greater than the shaft width.

13. A working element as claimed in claim I, wherein on the inner part of said butt, the width of which corresponds to or is smaller than the width of the shaft, a U-shaped outer part is attached.

14. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer part of said butt forms a housing enveloping the inner part thereof, the width of said inner part corresponding to or being smaller than the width of the shaft.

15. A working element as claimed in claim I, wherein the parts of the butt, the width of which exceed the width ofthe shaft are made ofa hard, strong material.

16. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the complete butt is made of the same material as the shaft.

17. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foot is of the same width as the supporting part of the butt and has a planar surface oblique to the longitudinal axis ofthe shaft.

18. A working element as claimed in claim 3, wherein the foot is of the same width as the supporting part ofthe butt and is V-shaped.

19. A working element as claimed in claim 4, wherein said butt is provided with two feet bent obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the shaft the width of which feet corresponds to the width ofthe butt.

20. A working element as claimed in claim I, wherein the shaft and the butt are made ofa casting or molding ofa synthetic polymer with an inner reinforcement, the part of said reinforcement projecting from the shaft being the working part of the working element. 

1. A working element in a bed of a knitting machine, the element being provided on its shaft with at least one butt cooperating with cams actuating the movement of the working elements in the bed, the functional surface of the butt having a rounded part and a planar part, the planar part being disposed oblique to the longitudinal axis of said working element, said functional surface of the butt exceeding the width of the shaft, the skewing of said functional surface of the butt corresponding to that of the functional surface of the cam.
 2. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the skewing of the functional surface of the butt corresponds to the maximum working angle of the cam.
 3. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt is provided with at least one pair of converging planar functional surfaces.
 4. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt is provided with two parallel planar functional surfaces.
 5. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt is provided with only one functional surface.
 6. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the width of said butt is larger than that of the shaft.
 7. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt includes a supporting part and at least one foot with at least one skewed functional surface, said functional surface exceeding the width of the shaft.
 8. A working element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the width of the supporting part of the butt is not greater that the shaft width.
 9. A working element as claimed in claim 7, wherein the foot is V-shaped.
 10. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein said butt is provided with an elongated profile, rounded on its ends, the longitudinal axis of said profile being oblique to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
 11. A working element as claimed in claim 6, wherein the width of said butt exceeds the width of the shaft by at least 25 percent.
 12. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the feet of said butts and other parts of said butt exceeding the width of the shaft consist of an additional material which is secured to the butt part, the width of the latter being no greater than the shaft width.
 13. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein on the inner part of said butt, the width of which corresponds to or is smaller than the width of the shaft, a U-shaped outer part is attached.
 14. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer part of said butt forms a housing enveloping the inner part thereof, the width of said inner part corresponding to or being smaller than the width of the shaft.
 15. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parts of the butt, the width of which exceed the width of the shaft are made of a hard, strong material.
 16. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the complete butt is made of the same material as the shaft.
 17. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the foot is of the same width as the supporting part of the butt and has a planar surface oblique to the longitudinal axis of the shaft.
 18. A working element as claimed in claim 3, wherein the foot is of the same width as the supporting part of the butt and is V-shaped.
 19. A working element as claimed in claim 4, wherein said butt is provided with two feet bent obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the shaft the width of which feet corresponds to the width of the butt.
 20. A working element as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shaft and the butt are made of a casting or molding of a synthetic polymer with an inner reinforcement, the part of said reinforcement projecting from the shaft being the working part of the working element. 